Gender Perspectives on the Global Economic Crisis

The economic crisis continues to affect many women and men living in poverty. But how these effects are felt depends, to a large extent, on their relationships with the people and institutions with whom they interact. These relationships are profoundly different for women and men. Pre- existing inequalities, which include under-representation of women at all levels of economic decision making and their over-representation in informal, vulnerable, and casual employment, are often more significant than gender inequalities arising specifically from the crisis. This paper summarises the issues raised during a workshop of development and gender practitioners and academics, convened in September 2009, by the international journal Gender & Development.